


Happy and Healthy

by ladydurin_x



Series: The Carne Collection [4]
Category: Poldark (TV 2015), Poldark - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Pregnancy, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-27 08:24:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,455
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20404663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladydurin_x/pseuds/ladydurin_x
Summary: Morwenna enjoys a quiet moment with her bump, and Drake wonders if family history will make any difference as to the baby's gender.





	Happy and Healthy

Morwenna nudged the last of the village children, as always little Tommy Hoblyn, from the cottage with a fond smile, listening to their excited babble about the day’s lessons.

There had been a time in which she had allowed herself to become convinced she would never be happy again, yet here she was, not only smiling, not only enjoying her days, but becoming  _ useful.  _ A valued member of the community. 

She let her head rest against the wooden frame of the door, looking over to where Drake was hard at work at the smithy. From the cottage she could hear the distinctive sound of metal against metal, she could imagine Drake’s furrowed brow as he struggled to shape a particularly stubborn piece. 

Only the night before Morwenna had been resting with her head in his lap, listening as he bemoaned an especially difficult wheel spoke sent over by Caroline Enys. 

According to Drake, when he had first opened his business, Caroline had been a particularly frequent customer. The result was a friendship that bemused Morwenna almost as much as it baffled her; two less likely friends she had yet to encounter. Yet the attachment was genuine on both sides, and even now, she would send over work to make sure Drake wasn’t struggling, resolutely refusing any discount he offered on account of their friendship.

She felt a small movement from the little person growing within her. “You enjoy listening to Papa work? So do I, my love.”

There wasn’t long left now. Whilst Caroline had been dropping off the wheel spoke, Doctor Enys had popped across to the cottage for a quick check up. His reassurances that all was well had barely been enough to calm Drake who was growing increasingly anxious as the big day approached.

She caught Drake watching her and waved quickly, dipping back inside the house before he could start fretting. Again. He’d only just stopped dropping his work to run across to the cottage whenever he spotted her out of doors.

Demelza had sent across a fresh saffron cake, knowing Moewenna’s fondness for it. The mere sight of it made Morwenna tear up. This pregnancy had made her horrendously weepy. Crying when Jeremy invited her to join his and Clowance’s games had been a particular low point. It had taken Demelza a long time to convince both children that Aunt Morwenna was perfectly well. She’d noticed Jeremy keeping an eye on her whenever she was around ever since.

Humming a lullaby Demelza had taught her, she rubbed at her lower back, trying to soothe the ache that was building there. Her longing to meet her child was surpassed only by her desire to be rid of the aches and pains that came with the pregnancy. “Not long now,” she repeated, as she cut off a slice of cake. 

Safely alone in the house, with no one to take offense at her unladylike behaviour, she sucked the crumbs from her thumb. “Don’t tell your papa. He still thinks of me as a proper lady.”

Her constant companion of the past few months kicked in response.

* * *

She could hear his footsteps on the gravel outside the cottage long before Drake came through the door. It was one of the many little things Morwenna had come to appreciate about the little cottage she now called home. 

Truth be told, she had quickly come to rely on the echoing sounds of Drake hard at work at the smithy to gauge when he would be home, but it was the sound of the gravel that now served as Morwenna’s notice to finish getting the places ready for their evening meal. 

It was one of Morwenna’s favourite times of day, just sitting together, eating together and discussing the events of the day. It was also one of the few points of contention in what was a generally harmonious partnership. Drake was always insisting that he didn’t expect Morwenna to cook for him every night, whilst she stubbornly countered that she genuinely  _ enjoyed  _ cooking.

Especially now that her culinary mishaps were a distant memory. Mostly. Demelza had, after one too many horror stories from Sam about burned pastry, taken it upon herself to help her new sister-in-law. Her assistance, and many hours spent practicing meant that rock hard buns were, more or less, a thing of the past.

As her pregnancy progressed, and movement had grown increasingly difficult, Morwenna had grown increasingly grateful for the early warning the gravel provided. While her belly was still, mercifully, smaller than it had been at this stage with John Conan, a fact that Morwenna was secretly convinced was evidence that she was carrying a girl this time (something Prudie has dismissed as utter drivel when she’d overheard Morwenna mention it to Demelza and Caroline), it was still large enough to be a hindrance to even the smallest of movements.

She hoisted herself from her seat, setting her lesson plan for the next day, wild flowers, on the cushion, before making her way towards the cupboard that held their cutlery, one hand sitting atop of her belly. 

Morwenna selected two forks, Sam was staying late at the mine, and had made plans to eat with the Martin family, her eyes narrowing as she noticed a dark smudge on one. She rubbed at it absently with her thumb. 

“Morwenna!”

She narrowly avoided dropping the forks as she jumped. “Drake, you gave me a fright!”

He ignored the accusation, not even bothering to remove his dirty apron before rushing over to help her in a few short strides - the advantages of the long limbs all the Carne siblings seemed to possess. “Doctor Enys did say-”

“ _ Drak _ e,” she fought to keep her tone even. After all, while she had been through the process before, and with significantly less care for her well being, her husband had not. It was difficult sometimes, to remember that for Drake this was all new, and as frightening as it was exciting. “I am more than capable of putting out some cutlery, and since Demelza sent a pie with the cake I’ve done no cooking. I am following Doctor Enys’s advice to the letter, I promise.”

Even before her stomach had expanded, announcing her condition to the world, he had been overly cautious, barely letting her move from one room to another without assistance. Now almost seven months gone, it had begun to become rather suffocating.

Drake’s cheeks reddened. “I’m sorry, my love. I’ll get the pie.”

Morwenna nodded, gently extracting her elbow from his loose grip, reaching up to give him a quick kiss.

He licked his lips, narrowing his eyes. “You started Demelza’s cake without me!”

* * *

“Oh!”

Morwenna sat up from where she had been dozing against Drake’s shoulder, hand flying to the swell of her stomach.

Drake looked up from the papers he was looking over. “Morwenna?”

She smiled. “I’m perfectly fine. The baby moved.”

Morwenna took his hand, resting it over the spot in which she had felt the movement. She grinned when it moved again, narrowly avoiding laughing at the shocked expression on Drake’s face.

“Do it hurt?” 

She shook her head, smiling as she looked down at their joined hands, still resting on her stomach. “I used to sit like this with my Mama, when she was expecting with Rowella. Probably with Carenza too,but I don’t remember.”

Drake smiled, drawing tiny circles on her belly with his index finger. “I s’pect my mother hadn’t much time to sit down like that, not with six tackers running ‘bout.”

Sometimes Morwenna forgot that Drake was the youngest of his siblings. Demelza, and occasionally Sam, would share stories of their childhood with her, when the family, plus the Enyses, were gathered for a meal together. Morwenna couldn’t imagine it. Seven children in seven years, barely a room between them. Neither of them told many stories about the time after their mother had died, only to embarrass Drake with anecdotes about his early childhood antics.

“I s’pcion t’will be a boy,” Drake said suddenly, eyes still on Morwenna’s bump.

Morwenna hummed, playing with the hair that covered Drake’s forearm. “What makes you say that?”

He grinned. “Well, my mother did have only  _ one  _ girl.”

Morwenna rolled her eyes. “Mine had  _ four _ !”

She pretended not to notice the way they both carefully avoided mentioning John Conan. At least she could be certain  _ this  _ child would not be stolen from her. This child would be brought up surrounded by love and laughter. Of that much she was certain.

“So long as they are healthy. And happy,” Morwenna yawned, resting her head on Drake’s shoulder once more, listening to the fire crackle as she felt herself doze off.


End file.
